B.R. Ambedkar

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891-6 December 1956) was Minister of Law and Justice of India from 15 August 1947 to September 1951, preceding Charu Chandra Biswas.

Biography
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was born in Mhow, Central Provinces, British Raj (now in Madhya Pradesh, India) on 14 April 1891. He was born into the Mahar caste of "untouchables", but he won a series of scholarships and graduated from Columbia University with a Ph.D. and with a D.Sc. degree from the University of London in 1923, when he became a lawyer. In July 1924, he founded the Bahishkrit Hikarini Sabha, an organization that campaigned for the rights of untouchables. He led the fight for the depressed classes in the Bombay Legislative Assembly from 1926 to 1934, and he became a professor of jurisprudence at the Government Law College in 1935. He was also a representative at the Round Table Conferences, and he clashed with Mahatma Gandhi over his rejection of a separate vote for the untouchables. The resulting Poona Pact of 1932 saw legislature seats be reserved for the untouchables, giving them representation in parliament, while also continuing their isolation. In April 1942, he founded the Scheduled Castes Federation (precursor to the Republican Party of India), and he founded the People's Education Society in 1945. In 1947, he took part in the independence negotiations, and he served as Jawaharlal Nehru's Law Minister from 1947 to 1951. He was responsible for drafting India's constitution, and he remained in the government until his resignation in 1951. As many Hindus continued to oppress the untouchables, Ambedkar converted to Buddhism, and he urged his followers to do so as well. He died in Delhi in 1956.